Walk-in showers
Curbless, tiled, with the blocking already in the walls
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Accessible bathing
Tub-to-shower conversion
The single highest-value change in most homes. A standard alcove tub asks you to lift a foot 15 to 17 in over a wet rim. A conversion removes that ask entirely.
- Step-over removed
- 15 to 17 in
- Fast route
- 1 to 2 days
- Tiled route
- 7 to 10 days
- Seat rating
- 400 lb
01Overview
What this actually involves
Nearly every home built here between 1972 and 1998 has the same 60 x 32 in alcove with a steel or acrylic tub in it. That alcove is exactly the right size for a proper transfer shower, which is why this is the conversion we do most often and the one we can quote most tightly.
There are two honest versions. A one-to-two day refit drops a textured acrylic or solid-surface base into the same footprint, adds bars and a seat where the walls open up, and leaves a 1/2 in bevelled threshold. A full tiled conversion opens the floor, gets you a true zero-inch entry, and puts blocking in every wall. We will tell you which one your floor can actually take before you sign anything.
Either way the drain moves. A tub waste sits at one end; a shower needs its drain centred or run to a linear trough, so there is always a plumbing rough-in and an inspection. Any quote that does not include a permit line has not planned on doing that part.
02Scope
What is in the price
Everything below is included as standard. Anything that is an allowance rather than a fixed item is named as one on your quote.
- Tub removal and disposalIncluding cast iron, which we cut in place rather than drag through your hallway.
- New drain location and rough-inCentre drain or linear trough, re-vented to code, county inspected.
- Base or tiled panTextured acrylic base at DCOF 0.55, or a hand-floated mud pan for a true curbless finish.
- Two walls of blocking minimumControl wall and seat wall, 2x10 flat at 32 to 42 in AFF.
- Folding seat and two grab bars18 to 24 in horizontal on the control wall, 24 in vertical at the opening.
- Anti-scald valve replacementThe old two-handle valve goes. New thermostatic trim, stop set at 120 F.
- Wall surroundTile to the ceiling, or a solid-surface panel system where speed matters more.
- Dust containment and floor protectionZip walls at the door, ram board down the hall, negative-air machine running.
03Sequence
How the days run
One lead carpenter stays with the job from the first zip wall to the final punch list.
- 01
Site check and floor decision
We open a small section of floor to see what is under the tub before quoting the pan.
- 02
Demolition
Tub out, surround off, substrate cut back to sound framing.
- 03
Plumbing rough and inspection
Drain relocated, valve replaced, vent confirmed.
- 04
Blocking and board
Blocking to the load-test spec, cement board, membrane.
- 05
Surface
Tile set and grouted, or panel system installed and sealed.
- 06
Bars, seat, trim, test
Bars torqued and pull-tested, seat loaded to 400 lb, valve temperature verified.
04Also relevant
Services that usually go with this
Full bathroom remodel
Down to the studs, one crew, a finish date in writing
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Accessible and aging in place
Clearances, blocking and comfort-height fixtures by the numbers
Read the detail
05Questions
About tub-to-shower conversion
Asked on almost every job like this
If your question is not here, put it to us on the phone. We answer the awkward ones the same way.
Ask a person instead(941) 555-0213All questions and answersIf the home has two or more full baths, keep a tub in the secondary bath and convert the one that gets daily use. If it is the only bathroom, a well-built curbless shower with a folding seat is now a broadly appealing feature rather than a compromise.
It is genuinely good at what it does, which is removing a step-over quickly and cleanly. What it cannot do is give you a true zero-inch entry, a 36 in clear opening, or blocking in walls it never opens. We are straight about that difference.
We can tie new shower tile into an existing floor with a colour-matched joint, but matching a 1990s field tile exactly is rarely possible. Most people replace the whole floor at the same time; it is about two extra days and a much better result.
The last thing on this page
Ninety minutes, at your house, for nothing
Joaquin measures the room against every clearance, maps the studs so we know where blocking can go, and leaves a written report. If the honest answer is that your bathroom cannot do what you need, he will say so and the report is still yours.
- Call
- (941) 555-0213
- Office hours
- Monday to Friday: 7:30 am to 5:30 pmSaturday: 9:00 am to 2:00 pmSunday: Closed, messages answered Monday
- Workshop
- 2140 Cattlemen Road, Suite 4, Sarasota, FL 34232
We do bathrooms only. If you need a kitchen, an addition or whole-home work we will give you two names of people who do it properly.